Simulated baseball game



June 5, 1956 H. G. BARRETT SIMULATED BASEBALL GAME Filed March 17, 19532 Sheets-Sheet l June 5, 1956 H. G. BARRETT SIMULATED BASEBALL GAME 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 17, 1953 United sa.. Patate SIMULATEDBASEBALL GAME Harold G. Barrett, Evanston, Ill., assgnor of one-half toNanko C. Bos, River Forest, Ill.

Application March 17, 1953, Serial No. 342,889

1 Claim. (Cl. 273-89) This invention relates to a simulated baseballgame in which the pitching mechanism and batting mechanism are manuallycontrolled by opposing players.

In accordance with the inventiona panel is marked to represent abaseballdiamond with certain areas marked to indicate the 'result of the battersefforts against a ball thrown by the pitcher. The manual manipulation ofthe pitching mechanism by the pitcher controls the speed and curve ofthe ball being pitched so that the batter must operate the battingmechanism skillfully in order to produce beneficial results for histeam.

It is an object of this invention to provide a simple inexpensiveapparatus that will provide suitable entertainment for persons who likebaseball, regardless of their age.

Another object is to provide manually controlled means that willeffectively impart different results to the ball that is pitched.

It is another object to provide means for insuring delivery of eachpitched ball to the proximity of home plate, regardless of itscurvature, so as to afford the batter a chance to hit any ball pitched.

lt is a further object of the invention to provide means for catchingthe ball every time it is thrown and holding the ball in such positionuntil the results can be noted by the players.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent uponreading the following specification, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective View of the device embodying the invention;

Pig. 2 is a fragmentary plan View of the home plate area of the game onan enlarged scale 'indicating in dotted lines the manner in which thebatting device may be manipulated;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view, taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;and

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 44 of Fig. 3.

ln the drawings, the reference numeral 2 indicates a panel upon theupper surface of which a baseball diamond is depicted. The panel ishoused in a frame comprising four vertical walls 3 each provided with aninwardly extending flange 4 which is spaced above the top surface of thepanel 2. The undersurface of each flange 4 is beveled upwardly at anangle of fifteen degrees, and the distance between the uppersurface ofthe panel 2 and the inner edge ot' the flange 4 is slightly greater thanthe diameter of the playing ball. The ball is preferably made of'plastic material or rubber so that when it is driven to the edge of thepanel it will be wedged between the beveled edge of the flange 4 and theupper surface of panel 2. The area of the edge of the panel whichrepresents the portion of the playing field between the foul lines isdivided into sections, as indicated at 6 in Fig. l, each of which ismarked to indicate the result of a ball 2,749,122, Patented June 5, 1956ice hit to the particular section. The ball remains in its caughtposition so that the result of each ball that is hit can be noted. Thegame is played with a single ball, and after the result of the hit ballis properly noted, the ball is manually removed from its caught positionand placed in a ball rest 7, which corresponds to the pitehers box, sothat it is ready for the next pitc The ball rest has a pair oflongitudinal flanges 9 at opposite edges defining a groove 10 extendinglongitudinally towards home plate 11. The bottom surface of the groove10 extends upwardly to a very slight extent towards the batter to keepthe ball from accidentally rolling off the rest in that direction. Thetransverse contour of the groove 10 coincides with the peripheralcurvature of the ball so that the ball always remains in exactly thesame position until it is thrown forwardly by the pitching arm 12. Thegroove 10 has sufficient length to guide the ball towards home plate sothat it will travelv in the proximate vicinity of home plate regardlessof the amount cf curvature imparted vto it by the pitching arm.v

The pitching arm l2 is pivoted below panel 2 which is provided with aslot 27 through which the pitching arm extends. The upper end of thepitching arm 12 is bent to form a hammer portion 25 which extends in thesame direction as a line drawn between the home plate and center field.The hammer portion 25 of pitching arm l2 is provided with a rubber tip35 adapted to strike the ball to pitch it towards home plate 11 when thepitching arm is manually moved about its pivot. The surface of the ballis preferably sand blasted to afford a suitable frictional Contact tothe rubber tip 35 so that the tip will not merely slide off the ball,but will propel it towards home plate with fairly accurate control. Whenthe rubber tip strikes the ball it will impart a spinning effect to theball.

The groove il) will direct the ball towards home plate, but as soon asthe ball leaves the groove 10 the spinning effect will cause it to curveas it approaches home plate. The grooved portion 10 of the ball rest isrelatively smooth so that the frictional force between the ball and theball rest will be substantially less than the frictional force betweenthe rubber tip of the pitching arm and the ball. This difference in thefrictional force between the ball and the pitching arm and thefrictional force between the ball and the groove 10 will facilitate thecurving of the ball as it is pitched because of the spinning effecttransmitted to the ball by striking it with the rubber tip 35. T he areaadjacent the corner of the panel 2 in back of home plate is providedwith an overhanging flange 36, provided with an upwardly beveled surfacesimilar to the flange 4. This area is divided into three sections sothat if the ball passes directly over home plate and is not hit by thebatter it will be caught under the portion of flange 36 which indicatesa strike. If the ball does not pass over home plate, and is not hit bythe batter, it will be caught in the position indicating a ball.

The bat support comprises an upright post 37 pivotally supported in asleeve 38 threaded into an aperture in the panel 2. A sleeve 3S isprovided on each side of home plate so that the bat may be convenientlyoperated by either right or left-handed batters. The sleeve is heldsecurely by means of a nut 39 threaded on to the exterior of the sleeveand tightened against the under surface of panel 2. The upper portion ofthe post 37 is provided with a longitudinal bore 40 in which a coiledspring 41 is housed. The post 37 is also provided adjacent its upper endwith a transversely extending opening 42 through which the handle 43 ofthe bat extends. The handle 43 is provided with a notch 44 on its lowersurface adjacent the post 37. A ball 45 positioned on top of the spring41 in the longitudinal bore 40 is pressed upwardly by the spring intoengagement with the notched surface 44. The notch 44 is elongatedslightly to permit the handle 43 of the bat to be moved transverselythrough the opening 42 to a limited extent. The ends of the groovedportion 44 engage the ball 45 to limit this transverse movement of thebat handle. One end of the bat is turned downwardly, as indicated at 46,and the downwardly extending portion terminates a short distance abovethe upper surface of panel 2. The extreme lower portion of thedownturned end of the bat is provided with a sleeve 47 which constitutesthe hitting surface of the bat when it is rotated by one of the playersto hit a pitched ball. The limited transverse movement of the handlepermits the batter to position the end of the bat into proper lateralposition to meet a pitched ball coming towards either edge of homeplate. The sleeve 47 is positioned from the panel 2 at such a heightthat it will move in the same horizontal plane as the center of the ballpitched to the batter. Accordingly, if the batter correctly gages thespeed and direction of the curve of the pitched ball it is possible forhim to manipulate the bat so as to hit the ball squarely and drive it toany portion of the eld.

Although I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention inconsiderable detail, it will be understood that the description isintended to be illustrative, rather than restrictive, as many detailsmay be modited or changed without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe invention. Accordingly, I do not desire to be restricted to theexact structure described, except as limited by the appended claim.

l claim:

In a simulated baseball game, a panel having a baseball diamondincluding a home plate depicted thereon, a batting device comprising anupright post pivotally mounted on said panel adjacent home plate, saidpost being provided with an aperture adjacent its upper end, ahorizontally disposed bat extending through said aperture and having adownwardly extending ball striking surface, said bat being movabletransversely relative to said post, spring pressed means in said postengaging said handle to limit the transverse movement thereof, theextent of said transverse movement being approximately equal to thewidth of said home plate.

Barrett Nov. 8, 1910 Cutting et al Feb. 7, 1933

